A Canadian Evangelical on Life, Religion, and Society

In Ontario, prisoners can now choose to go to prison based on what gender they identify most with…hmmm…

Ontario has put forward a progressive policy allowing transgendered individuals to choose the jail they go to based on the gender they identify with. See article.

I’m not one to rail against people who want to do whatever they do in their personal life. As a Christian, I recognize that this is a democratic society and everyone has the right to his or her personal beliefs and choices. Personally I don’t support a transgendered lifestyle but I respect those who do, despite our differences.

With that being said, I question the decision of the Ontario Detention system to allow prisoners to choose whether they want to go to a male or female prison, based solely on the gender they most identify with.

Most of my concerns are based on safety.

1) I’ve heard male prisons can be rough. I’ve also read that transgendered individuals have a harder time in prison. If an anatomical female who identifies as a male enters a male prison, doesn’t that seem dangerous? This is a jail! We aren’t talking about the best citizens of society. There are a lot of sexual predators in jail.

2) What’s to stop a male prisoner from lying by identifying as female and entering a female prison? How does the system guard against this type of abuse?

3) If you are a transgendered person, do you have to enter the prison based on what you identify with? Do you have a choice? What if a transgendered person who identifies as female doesn’t want to enter the female prison? Is she forced to go?

My suggestion is to have a facility that can accommodate individuals who fit into categories that don’t work in the traditional “detention system”. Then everyone stays safe.